The New Orleans Saints' veterans will hit the practice field for the first time today as the team kicks off a series of 12 organized team activities (OTAs) over the next five weeks. Today's session will be closed to the media, though. We'll get our first glimpse of the 2009 Saints on Thursday, and we'll flood you with full reports then.

Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneJammal Brown has been in the past two Pro Bowls.

Four OTAs will be open to the media (May 21, June 9, June 15 and June 18), in addition to the three-day minicamp June 5-7. All sessions are closed to the public.

In the meantime, we'll continue our position-by-position breakdown of the Saints' roster with a look at the offensive tackles. Make sure and vote for which of these guys will make the 53-man roster.

Brown probably gets a wider range of love and hate from the fan base than any player on the Saints' roster - outside of maybe Reggie Bush and Robert Meachem. That's mostly because he flashed such tremendous potential in his first two years in the league that his past two years of inconsistency have failed to live up to the expectations.

With his combination of power and athleticism, Brown is probably just on the edge of the top-10 left tackles in the NFL, as was evidenced by his second Pro Bowl invitation last year. But he has not been maximizing his potential on a consistent basis. He was abused by Carolina's Julius Peppers and Atlanta's John Abraham in two lopsided NFC South losses last year. Despite not giving up a wealth of sacks, he has been flagged for a few too many holding penalties. And he was responsible for at least one key missed block during that infamous series of short-yardage running failures early last season.

That all being said, Brown is a strength for this team, one of the pillars of the NFL's top-ranked offense, and he would be very difficult to replace. If he maximizes his potential, he'll be back in Hawaii several more times before his career is done. ... He could also cash in as an unrestricted free agent next year if a new collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players' union is reached before then. Otherwise, Brown will be a restricted free agent.

Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneJon Stinchcomb was given a contract extension and is one of the more popular guys on the team.

Right tackle Stinchcomb was an unrestricted free agent this year, and the Saints decided to pony up to keep him in New Orleans long-term, even though they had spending limitations. That speaks a lot to how they value the reliable veteran. Stinchcomb is solid across the board - as a run blocker, a pass protector and a moving part who gets down the field on screens and sweeps. He's a smart player who is well respected in the locker room by players and coaches alike.

The Saints really like their depth at the tackle position. Strief has proven in a handful of cameo appearances that he can fill in at either tackle spot without much of a dropoff. Bushrod hasn't developed as quickly as expected after he looked like a real diamond in the rough two years ago. But he is a well-built athlete who always catches eyes during training camp.

Parrish and Brown are roster long shots because of the depth of proven players in front of them. But they both showed enough during rookie minicamp to earn the extended invites, so there's always a chance.